Positive electrode structure for secondary battery

ABSTRACT

Provided is a positive electrode structure for a secondary battery. This positive electrode structure includes: a positive electrode current collector composed of a tabular nickel foam and having a tabular coated portion and an uncoated portion extending from an outer peripheral portion of the coated portion; and a positive electrode active material containing nickel hydroxide and/or nickel oxyhydroxide incorporated into the coated portion of the positive electrode current collector. The positive electrode active material is not present in the uncoated portion of the positive electrode current collector, and the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion is compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.10 times or more and less than 0.8 times a thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of PCT/JP2019/032602 filed Aug. 21, 2019, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-230195 filed Dec. 7, 2018, the entire contents all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a positive electrode structure for a secondary battery.

2. Description of the Related Art

In order to obtain a high voltage and a large current, laminated batteries made by combining a plurality of cells are widely used. Laminated batteries have a configuration in which a laminated body in which a plurality of cells are connected in series or in parallel is accommodated in one battery container. For example, Patent Literature 1 (WO2017/086278) discloses a zinc secondary battery in which a plurality of electrode cartridges including electrodes and separators (particularly LDH separators described later) are housed in a closed container. In the laminated battery disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the positive electrode plate, the separator, and the negative electrode plate are housed in a closed container in an upright state, and a nonwoven fabric is provided between the positive electrode plate and the separator and/or between the negative electrode plate and the separator. By providing the nonwoven fabric in this manner, various functions of a cushioning material, a liquid-retaining material, a falling-off preventive material, an air bubble escape material, and the like can be exhibited, so that the electrolytic solution can be sufficiently brought into contact with the separator to be held while preventing the falling-off of constituent particles from the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate and/or releasing the bubbles which may be generated, thereby maximizing the hydroxide ion conductivity of the separator.

For zinc secondary batteries such as a nickel-zinc secondary battery or an air-zinc secondary battery, it is known that metal zinc is deposited in a dendritic form from a negative electrode during charging, and the deposited zinc penetrates through voids of a separator such as a nonwoven fabric to reach a positive electrode, thereby causing a short circuit. Short circuit caused by such zinc dendrites reduces the charge/discharge repetition lifetime. In order to deal with the above problems, a battery provided with a layered double hydroxide (LDH) separator that selectively permeates hydroxide ions and blocks the penetration of zinc dendrites has been proposed. For example, Patent Literature 2 (WO2013/118561) discloses that an LDH separator is provided between a positive electrode and a negative electrode in a nickel-zinc secondary battery. Further, Patent Literature 3 (WO2016/076047) discloses a separator structure including an LDH separator fitted in or joined to a resin outer frame, and discloses that the LDH separator is so dense that it has gas impermeability and/or water impermeability. The literature also discloses that LDH separator can be in the form of a composite with a porous substrate. Furthermore, Patent Literature 4 (WO2016/067884) discloses various methods for forming an LDH dense membrane on a surface of a porous substrate to obtain a composite material (LDH separator). The methods include uniformly depositing, on the porous substrate, a starting material capable of providing a start point of the growth of LDH crystals and hydrothermally treating the porous substrate in an aqueous stock solution to form the layered double hydroxide dense membrane on the surface of the porous substrate.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: WO2017/086278

Patent Literature 2: WO2013/118561

Patent Literature 3: WO2016/076047

Patent Literature 4: WO2016/067884

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Nickel-hydrogen batteries and nickel-zinc batteries use nickel foam as a positive electrode current collector (for example, Patent Literature 1). The nickel foam is a porous metal body composed of nickel and having an open pore structure. Since the positive electrode active material (nickel hydroxide) does not have electrical conductivity, nickel foam having a three-dimensional structure is used as the positive electrode current collector. A current collecting terminal is bonded to the nickel foam, and it is desirable that the bonding be performed by ultrasonic welding from the viewpoint of productivity improvement. However, when attempting to bond the nickel foam and the current collecting terminal by ultrasonic welding, there is a problem in that the nickel foam is torn and welding cannot be performed well.

The present inventors have recently found that by employing a constitution wherein the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion in which the positive electrode active material is not present is compressed so as to achieve a predetermined ratio with respect to the thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion incorporating the positive electrode active material, it is possible to bond the nickel foam and the current collecting terminal by ultrasonic welding.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a positive electrode structure including a nickel foam current collector in a state capable of ultrasonic welding with a current collecting terminal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a positive electrode structure for a secondary battery, comprising:

-   -   a positive electrode current collector composed of a tabular         nickel foam and having a tabular coated portion and an uncoated         portion extending from an outer peripheral portion of the coated         portion; and     -   a positive electrode active material containing nickel hydroxide         and/or nickel oxyhydroxide incorporated into the coated portion         of the positive electrode current collector,     -   wherein the positive electrode active material is not present in         the uncoated portion of the positive electrode current         collector, and     -   wherein the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion is         compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.10 times or more and         less than 0.8 times a thickness of the nickel foam constituting         the coated portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nickel-zinc secondary battery comprising:

-   -   the positive electrode structure,     -   a negative electrode structure containing a negative electrode         active material layer containing at least one selected from the         group consisting of zinc, zinc oxide, a zinc alloy, and a zinc         compound;     -   an LDH separator containing a porous substrate made of a polymer         material, and a layered double hydroxide (LDH) and/or an         LDH-like compound that fills up pores of the porous substrate so         as to exhibit hydroxide ion conductivity and gas impermeability;         and     -   an electrolytic solution,     -   wherein the positive electrode and the negative electrode active         material layer are separated from each other via the LDH         separator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a set of cross-sectional views conceptually showing a positive electrode structure according to one aspect of the present invention, in which part (a) shows a state before compression of nickel foam in an uncoated portion, and part (b) shows a state after compression of nickel foam in an uncoated portion.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a positive electrode structure according to one aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a heat welding sealing structure of a nonwoven fabric/positive electrode current collector/nonwoven fabric at a sealing side S′ of the positive electrode structure shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a laminated body before heat welding sealing a nonwoven fabric in production of the positive electrode structure shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A of the positive electrode structure shown in FIG. 2, and is a view corresponding to the positive electrode structure in which heat welding sealing has been completed for the laminated body shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a positive electrode structure in which only three outer peripheral sides S of a nonwoven fabric are sealed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A positive electrode structure of the present invention is used for a secondary battery such as a nickel-hydrogen battery or a nickel-zinc battery, preferably a nickel-zinc secondary battery. FIG. 1 shows an example of the positive electrode structure of the present invention. The positive electrode structure 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a positive electrode current collector 12 and a positive electrode active material 14. The positive electrode current collector 12 is composed of a tabular nickel foam, and has a tabular coated portion C and an uncoated portion U extending from an outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C. The positive electrode active material 14 contains nickel hydroxide and/or nickel oxyhydroxide, and is incorporated into the coated portion C of the positive electrode current collector 12. The positive electrode active material 14 is not present in the uncoated portion U of the positive electrode current collector 12. The nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion U is compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.10 times or more and less than 0.8 times the thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion C. That is, as shown in FIG. 1(a), nickel foam is initially a member with a substantially constant thickness across the entire area from the coated portion C to the uncoated portion U, but the nickel foam is reduced in thickness by being compressed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1(b). In this way, by employing a constitution wherein the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion U is compressed so as to achieve a predetermined ratio with respect to the thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion C, it is possible to bond the nickel foam and the current collecting terminal by ultrasonic welding. This is thought to be because compressing the uncoated portion U reduces the ratio of pores P (e.g., the number of pores and the pore size) in the nickel foam and achieves a morphology close to that of a metal plate suitable for ultrasonic welding. Furthermore, there is also the advantage in that pores P can be left without being completely eliminated, which enables the sealing bonding with the nonwoven fabric by heat welding or other means.

The positive electrode current collector 12 is composed of nickel foam. The nickel foam is a porous metal body composed of nickel and having open pore structures. The nickel foam has a tabular outer shape, preferably a rectangular shape (for example, a quadrilateral shape) for use as the positive electrode current collector 12. As used herein, the term “tabular” does not have to be a perfect tabular, and changes in thickness (for example, a step or a tapered thickness change at the boundary between the coated portion C and the uncoated portion U) such as steps and undulations are allowed as long as the tabular outline is generally recognized. As used herein, the term “rectangular” or “quadrilateral” does not have to be a perfect rectangular or quadrilateral, and there may be some deformation such as cutouts or rounded corners as long as the rectangular or quadrilateral outline is generally recognized. Commercially available nickel foam may be used as the positive electrode current collector 12, and examples thereof include Celmet® manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Nickel foams of various specifications are commercially available, and the thickness, average pore diameter, average window diameter, and the like may be appropriately selected according to the desired thickness and performance. For example, nickel foam having a thickness of 0.5 to 10 mm, an average pore diameter of 0.3 to 5 mm, and an average window diameter of 0.2 to 2 mm can be preferably used. It should be noted that these numeral values of the thickness, the average pore diameter, and the average window diameter are not the numerical values which the positive electrode structure 10 as a final form has because they vary with the filling of the positive electrode active material 14 and the subsequent pressing.

The nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion U is compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.10 times or more and less than 0.8 times, preferably 0.11 times or more and less than 0.5 times, and more preferably 0.13 times or more and less than 0.3 times the thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion C. In such a range, the nickel foam and the current collecting terminal can be well bonded by ultrasonic welding, and heat welding with the nonwoven fabric can be easily performed. The compression of the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion U is preferably performed by pressurizing the nickel foam with a uniaxial press, a roll press or the like to adjust the nickel foam to have a desired thickness. In the positive electrode structure 10, the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion U preferably has a thickness of 0.10 to 0.30 mm, more preferably 0.10 to 0.25 mm, and still more preferably 0.10 to 0.20 mm.

The positive electrode current collector 12 has a tabular coated portion C and an uncoated portion U extending from the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C (typically one side). The coated portion C is a portion for incorporating the positive electrode active material 14, and the uncoated portion U is a portion left without incorporating the positive electrode active material 14. Therefore, in the positive electrode structure 10, the positive electrode active material is not present in the uncoated portion U of the positive electrode current collector 12. Hence, the uncoated portion U of the positive electrode current collector 12 is suitable for connecting the positive electrode terminals by ultrasonic welding or the like. The uncoated portion U preferably extends from the coated portion C at a distance of 5 to 50 mm, more preferably 5 to 40 mm, and still more preferably 5 to 30 mm.

The positive electrode active material 14 contains nickel hydroxide and/or nickel oxyhydroxide. Therefore, the secondary battery of the present invention is particularly suitable for a nickel-zinc secondary battery. Filling the coated portion C of the positive electrode current collector 12 with the positive electrode active material 14 can be performed as follows. For example, a positive electrode active material paste containing an active material powder containing nickel hydroxide as a main component and a binder or the like is filled into the pores of the coated portion C of the positive electrode current collector 12 and dried. At the time of filling, in order to prevent the paste from entering the uncoated portion U of the positive electrode current collector 12, it is preferable to apply masking or the like beforehand to a place where the paste should not be filled to fill up the pores. Then, after the coated portion C filled with the positive electrode active material paste is sufficiently dried, it is uniformly pressurized with a roll press to adjust the thickness to a desired value. By pressing the coated portion C after drying, it is possible to prevent the electrode active material from falling off and improve the electrode density. It is preferable to adjust the preparation conditions of the paste and the roll press conditions appropriately so as to obtain a desired density.

The positive electrode current collector 12 incorporating the positive electrode active material 14 preferably has a thickness (that is, T_(c) in FIG. 5) of 0.2 to 2.0 mm, more preferably 0.4 to 1.4 mm, and still more preferably 0.6 to 0.8 mm. As used herein, the “thickness of the positive electrode current collector 12 incorporating the positive electrode active material 14” means the thickness of the entire positive electrode plate composed of the positive electrode active material 14 and the positive electrode current collector 12, including not only the thickness of the positive electrode current collector 12 containing the positive electrode active material 14 inside thereof but also the thickness of the positive electrode active material 14 adhering to the surface of the positive electrode current collector 12.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the positive electrode structure 10 may further include the nonwoven fabric 16. Preferably, the nonwoven fabric 16 is made of a polymer material and covers the coated portion C of the positive electrode current collector 12 from both sides. More preferably, the nonwoven fabric 16 covers an entirety of the coated portion C and extends from the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C to form a surplus region E, and the surplus region E is sealed so as to close all around the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C. In this way, it is possible to provide a positive electrode structure 10 capable of suppressing a self-discharge reaction and obtaining a target voltage when incorporated into a secondary battery by covering the coated portion C of the positive electrode current collector 12 incorporating the positive electrode active material 14 with the nonwoven fabric 16 from both sides and sealing the surplus region E of the nonwoven fabric 16 so as to close all around the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C. That is, when a nonwoven fabric is provided on a positive electrode plate, in order to effectively obtain various functions of the nonwoven fabric (functions of a cushioning material, a liquid-retaining material, a falling-off preventive material, an air bubble escape material, etc.), it is considered to sandwich the positive electrode plate with the nonwoven fabric from both sides and seal the end portions of the nonwoven fabric by heat welding or the like. In this case, in order to avoid interference with the current collector, when a nickel-zinc battery is produced by heat welding sealing only three sides S of the four outer peripheral sides of the nonwoven fabric sandwiching the positive electrode plate, other than one side overlapping with the positive electrode current collector (that is, one side O remains open; this side is usually considered to be difficult to be heat-welded with the nonwoven fabric), as shown in FIG. 6, the self-discharge reaction progresses, and the target voltage cannot be obtained. That is, the coated positive electrode active material (for example, the nickel component) falls off from the positive electrode current collector during aging and evaluation and diffuses from the unsealed open side O to the outside (arrow direction in the figure), thereby reaching the negative electrode and forming a local battery, causing a self-discharge reaction of the negative electrode, and causing a problem in that the target voltage cannot be obtained. Therefore, nickel foam is adopted as the positive electrode current collector 12, the nonwoven fabric 16 is extended from the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C to form the surplus region E, and as shown in FIG. 3, the whole positive electrode current collector 12 is sealed with the nonwoven fabric 16 from both sides of the positive electrode current collector 12. In this regard, a normal positive electrode current collector composed of a nonporous metal plate cannot be heat-welded in the form of being sandwiched between nonwoven fabrics, but by adopting the nickel foam, a large number of voids are allowed to be present in the positive electrode current collector 12 as shown in FIG. 3, and when the nonwoven fabric 16 is melted, the nonwoven fabrics 16 can be heat-welded to each other through the voids in the positive electrode current collector 12, thereby realizing effective sealing. However, it is considered that even if a sealing method other than heat welding such as an adhesive or ultrasonic welding is used, the sealing can be similarly performed by using a large number of voids. In this way, by sealing not only the side S that does not overlap with the positive electrode current collector 12 of the nonwoven fabric 16 but also the side S′ that overlaps with the positive electrode current collector 12 of the nonwoven fabric 16, the nickel component or the like fallen off from the positive electrode does not diffuse outside, and the self-discharge reaction can be suppressed to obtain the target voltage.

The nonwoven fabric 16 is preferably a nonwoven fabric made of a polymer material. The nonwoven fabric 16 effectively provide various functions of the nonwoven fabric (functions of a cushioning material, a liquid-retaining material, a falling-off preventive material, an air bubble escape material, etc.) by covering the coated portion C of the positive electrode current collector 12 from both sides. That is, since the nonwoven fabric can exhibit various functions of a cushioning material, a liquid-retaining material, a falling-off preventive material, an air bubble escape material, and the like, the electrolytic solution can be sufficiently brought into contact with the positive electrode active material 14 and the separator to be held while preventing the falling-off of constituent particles from the positive electrode and/or releasing the bubbles which may be generated. The polymer material constituting the nonwoven fabric is preferably a thermoplastic polymer material from the viewpoint of performing heat welding sealing. Examples of the thermoplastic polymer material include polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester, and particularly preferred is polyethylene and/or polypropylene. The nonwoven fabric 16 preferably has a thickness of 0.05 to 0.2 mm, more preferably 0.07 to 0.15 mm, and still more preferably 0.08 to 0.10 mm from the viewpoint of the above-described various functions (particularly liquid retention) of the nonwoven fabric and ease of sealing (particularly heat welding sealing). Commercially available nonwoven fabric 16 may be used, and the basis weight and thickness may be appropriately selected in consideration of water absorption rate, water retention, and the like so as to obtain desired characteristics. The nonwoven fabric 16 to which hydrophilicity is imparted by surfactants, plasma treatments or the like is preferred.

As shown in FIG. 2, the nonwoven fabric 16 covers the entirety of the coated portion C and extends from the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C to form a surplus region E, and the surplus region E is sealed so as to close all around the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion C.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, in the portion of the surplus region E that overlaps with the uncoated portion U, the nonwoven fabric 16 is preferably sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween. In this case, the portion in which the nonwoven fabric 16 is sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween has a width Ws of 1 to 10 mm, more preferably 1 to 7 mm, and still more preferably 1 to 4 mm. Further, the portion in which the nonwoven fabric 16 is sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween preferably has a thickness T_(s) of 0.1 to 1.0 mm, more preferably 0.1 to 0.7 mm, and still more preferably 0.1 to 0.4 mm. As shown in FIG. 3, in the portion in which the nonwoven fabric 16 is sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween, pores of the nickel foam constituting the positive electrode current collector 12 are preferably filled with a polymer material constituting the nonwoven fabric 16 (that is, polymer material in a molten and solidified state derived from the nonwoven fabric 16). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable that the positive electrode structure 10 has an unfilled region F between the coated portion C and the portion (side S′) in which the nonwoven fabric 16 is sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween, and in the unfilled region F, pores of the nickel foam constituting the positive electrode current collector 12 are not filled with the polymer material (that is, the constituent material of the nonwoven fabric 16) or the positive electrode active material. The unfilled region F functions as a buffer for sufficiently separating the coated portion C from the portion (side S′) in which the nonwoven fabric 16 is sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween, effectively preventing the positive electrode active material 14 from entering the seal portion from the coated portion C, and further ensuring the sealing of the nonwoven fabric 16 via the positive electrode current collector 12. Further, the presence of the unfilled region F makes it possible to avoid contact with the coated portion C when the uncoated portion U is pressurized.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the portion of the surplus region E that overlaps with the uncoated portion U, the positive electrode structure 10 preferably has a tapered cross-sectional shape which has a thickness decreasing from the coated portion C toward the uncoated portion. With such a cross-sectional shape, it is possible to effectively prevent the breakage of the nickel foam due to the rapid thickness change at the boundary between the coated portion C and the uncoated portion U during the press working of the nickel foam (that is, when the uncoated portion U is pressed), and the breakage of the nonwoven fabric 16 at the boundary between the coated portion C and the uncoated portion U during the sealing of the nonwoven fabric 16.

On the contrary, in the portion (side S) of the surplus region E that does not overlap with the uncoated portion U, the nonwoven fabric 16 is preferably sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 not being sandwiched therebetween. Since the nonwoven fabrics 16 can be directly sealed without interposing the positive electrode current collector 12, the sealing becomes easy.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the nickel foam is rectangular (for example, quadrilateral), the nonwoven fabric 16 covers the entirety of the coated portion C and extends from four outer peripheral sides of the coated portion C to form the surplus region E, and the surplus region E is sealed so as to close the four outer peripheral sides S and S′ of the coated portion C.

The sealing in the surplus region E can be performed by a known method such as an adhesive, heat welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesive tape, sealing tape, or the like, but heat welding sealing is preferable. By employing the heat welding sealing, it is possible to easily seal the positive electrode current collector 12 using a commercially available heat seal bar, and as described above with reference to FIG. 3, it is advantageous to seal the whole positive electrode current collector 12 with the nonwoven fabric 16 from both sides of the positive electrode current collector 12. That is, when the nonwoven fabric 16 is melted, the nonwoven fabrics 16 can be heat-welded to each other through the voids in the positive electrode current collector 12, thereby realizing effective sealing. For example, the heat welding sealing of the nonwoven fabric 16 may be performed by sandwiching the coated portion C from both sides with the nonwoven fabric 16 which has been cut out to a size larger than the coating portion C (see, for example, FIG. 4), and thermocompression-bonded the surplus region E protruding from the coated portion C at the end portion of the nonwoven fabric 16 with a heat seal bar or the like (see, for example, FIG. 5). Thermocompression bonding is preferably performed by pressing at a heating temperature of 150 to 200° C. for 1 second or longer.

As described above, the positive electrode structure 10 of the present invention is preferably used for a nickel-zinc secondary battery. In this case, the nickel-zinc secondary battery contains the above-mentioned positive electrode structure 10, a negative electrode structure, an LDH separator, and an electrolytic solution, and the positive electrode and the negative electrode active material layer are separated from each other via the LDH separator. The negative electrode structure contains a negative electrode active material layer containing at least one selected from the group consisting of zinc, zinc oxide, zinc alloys, and zinc compounds, and optionally further contains a negative electrode current collector. Preferred examples of the negative electrode active material include zinc oxide, zinc metal, and calcium zincate, but more preferred is a mixture of zinc metal and zinc oxide. The electrolytic solution preferably contains an aqueous alkali metal hydroxide solution. Examples of the alkali metal hydroxide include potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, and ammonium hydroxide and the like, but more preferred is potassium hydroxide.

The LDH separator is defined as a separator containing a layered double hydroxide (LDH) and/or an LDH-like compound (collectively referred to as a “hydroxide-ion conductive layered compound”), which selectively passes hydroxide ions by solely utilizing the hydroxide ion conductivity of the hydroxide-ion conductive layered compound. The term “LDH-like compound” as used herein means a hydroxide and/or an oxide with a layered crystal structure analogous to LDH, which may not be called LDH, and can be said to be an equivalent of LDH. However, as a broad definition, “LDH” can be interpreted to include not only LDH but also LDH-like compounds. Preferred LDH separators contain LDH and/or LDH-like compound and a porous substrate. As described above, the LDH and/or LDH-like compound fills up the pores of the porous substrate so that the LDH separator exhibits hydroxide ion conductivity and gas impermeability (and therefore functions as an LDH separator exhibiting hydroxide ion conductivity). The porous substrate is preferably made of a polymer material, and LDH and/or LDH-like compound is particularly preferably incorporated over the entire thickness direction of the porous substrate made of a polymer material. For example, known LDH separators as disclosed in Patent Literatures 2 to 4 can be used.

When housed in a closed container and sealed with a lid portion, a cell element including the positive electrode structure 10, a negative electrode structure, an LDH separator, and an electrolytic solution can function as a main constituent component of a sealed zinc secondary battery. It is more preferable to have a plurality of cell elements housed in a closed container to form an assembled battery.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples.

Example 1

(1) Production of Positive Electrode Structure

A positive electrode active material powder containing nickel hydroxide as a main component and a binder were mixed to prepare a positive electrode paste. A rectangular tabular nickel foam (Celmet® manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., product number #7, thickness 1.6 mm, average pore diameter 0.51 mm, average window diameter 0.26 mm) was provided as the positive electrode current collector, and the pores of the portion to be a coated portion of the nickel foam was filled with the positive electrode paste and dried. At this time, by applying masking to the portion to be an uncoated portion of the nickel foam beforehand to block the pores, the positive electrode paste was prevented from entering the pores of the uncoated portion. In this way, nickel foam (positive electrode current collector) partly filled with the positive electrode active material was obtained as a positive electrode plate. The obtained positive electrode plate was sufficiently dried and uniformly pressed by a roll press to reduce the thickness of the coated portion to 0.70 mm. At this time, the uncoated portion of nickel foam (the portion not filled with the positive electrode active material) was also compressed to some extent, but in order to selectively further compress the uncoated portion U, a roll press was performed under conditions of a hydraulic pressure of 0.1 MPa and a gap of 0.06 mm to reduce the thickness of the uncoated portion to 0.10 mm. That is, the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion was compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.14 times the thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion. In this way, a positive electrode plate having a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 4 was obtained. The length Lu of the uncoated portion U (that is, the length of the protrusion from the coated portion C) was 30 mm.

A commercially available nonwoven fabric (manufactured by Japan Vilene Co., Ltd., material: polypropylene, thickness: 0.10 mm, unit area weight: 40 g/m²) was cut into a rectangular shape having a size larger than that of the coated portion C. As shown in FIG. 4, the coated portion C was sandwiched and covered from both sides with the obtained rectangular nonwoven fabric 16. At this time, the nonwoven fabric 16 covered the entirety of the coated portion C and extended from the four outer peripheral sides of the coated portion C to form a surplus region. The surplus region E was heat-welded and sealed (thermocompression bonded) so as to close all four outer peripheral sides of the coated portion C. This heat welding sealing was performed by heating the end portion of the nonwoven fabric 16 at a temperature of 150 to 200° C. for 1 second or longer using a commercially available heat seal bar. In the portion of the surplus region E that does not overlap with the uncoated portion U, the nonwoven fabrics 16 were directly heat-welded and sealed while the positive electrode current collector 12 not being sandwiched therebetween. On the contrary, in the portion of the surplus region E that overlaps with the uncoated portion U, the positive electrode current collector 12 was sandwiched with the nonwoven fabric 16 from both sides and heat-welded and sealed. In this way, the positive electrode structure 10 as shown in FIG. 5 was obtained.

The dimensions of each member shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 were as shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Dimension (mm) Thickness T_(C) of coated portion of positive  0.70 electrode current collector filled with positive electrode active material Thickness T_(N) of nonwoven fabric  0.10 Thickness T_(U) of uncoated portion  0.10 Length L_(U) of uncoated portion 30 Width W_(S) of welded portion in which nonwoven  5.5 fabric is sealed while a positive electrode current collector being sandwiched therebetween Thickness T_(S) of welded portion in which nonwoven  0.20 fabric is sealed while a positive electrode current collector being sandwiched therebetween

As a result of a visual observation and a cross-sectional SEM observation of the obtained positive electrode structure, the following structure was confirmed.

-   -   It was confirmed that as shown in FIG. 3, in the portion in         which the nonwoven fabric 16 was sealed while the positive         electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween,         the pores of the nickel foam constituting the positive electrode         current collector 12 were filled with the polymer material         constituting the nonwoven fabric 16.     -   It was confirmed that as shown in FIG. 5, in the portion of the         surplus region E that overlapped with the uncoated portion U,         there was a tapered cross-sectional shape which had a thickness         decreasing from the coated portion C toward the uncoated portion         U.     -   It was confirmed that as shown in FIG. 5, there was an unfilled         region F between the coated portion C and the portion (side S′)         in which the nonwoven fabric 16 was sealed while the positive         electrode current collector 12 being sandwiched therebetween,         and in the unfilled region F, the pores of the nickel foam         constituting the positive electrode current collector 12 were         not filled with the polymer material or the positive electrode         active material 14.         (2) Evaluation

The positive electrode structure produced in (1) above, the LDH separator below, and the negative electrode structure below were accommodated in a battery container so that the positive electrode structure and the negative electrode active material layer were separated from each other via the LDH separator. Then, a positive electrode terminal (material: nickel, thickness 1 mm) was bonded to twelve sheets of compressed nickel foams constituting the uncoated portion U of the positive electrode structure 10 by ultrasonic welding. The bonding by ultrasonic welding could be performed without damaging the nickel foam, causing no problems.

-   -   Negative electrode structure: a structure in which a negative         electrode active material layer containing metal zinc and zinc         oxide powder together with a binder is pressure-bonded to copper         expanded metal and is covered with a nonwoven fabric.     -   LDH separator: a separator pressed by filling up the pores of a         porous substrate made of a polymer material (polyethylene) with         LDH so as to exhibit hydroxide ion conductivity and gas         impermeability.

The following liquid injection step, chemical conversion step, and drainage step were performed on the nickel-zinc secondary battery thus produced as a chemical conversion process.

-   -   Liquid injection step: a treatment was performed in which the         electrolytic solution (5.4 mol % potassium hydroxide aqueous         solution) was infiltrated into the positive electrode structure         and the negative electrode structure. The amount of the         electrolytic solution was set so that the entire laminated body         was immersed, and by using the entire amount in two divided         times, immersion under reduced pressure (−90 kPa) and immersion         under open air were carried out.     -   Chemical conversion step: as a treatment for activating the         positive electrode, charging and discharging were performed to         depths of 80%, 100%, and 120% of the positive electrode mounting         capacity.     -   Drainage step: after the chemical conversion step, the surplus         electrolytic solution that was not absorbed by the positive         electrode structure and the negative electrode structure was         discharged from the injection port by reversing the battery by         180°.         <Quantification of Foreign Matter in Drainage>

The presence or absence of the positive electrode active material as a foreign matter in the drainage obtained in the above drainage step was examined. Specifically, the number of foreign matters in the filtration residue in the drainage was counted, and the number of foreign matters per unit volume was measured. This measurement was carried out using an X-ray foreign matter analyzer (EA8000, manufactured by Hitachi High-Tech Science Corporation) with the measurement size of the foreign matter set to 20 μm or more. The results were as shown in Table 2.

<Self-Discharge Characteristic Evaluation>

With respect to the produced nickel-zinc secondary battery, the remaining capacity ratio after storing for 30 days at a constant charge depth was calculated as the self-discharge rate based on the following equation. The results were as shown in Table 2. Self-discharge rate=[(Initial charge capacity)−(Discharge capacity after storage)]/(Initial charge capacity)×100(%)

Example 2

The production and evaluation of the positive electrode structure were carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the surplus region E was heat-welded and sealed (thermocompression bonded) so as to close only three sides S of the four outer peripheral sides of the coated portion C (that is, the portion of the surplus region E that overlaps the uncoated portion (side O) was not heat-welded and sealed) as shown in FIG. 6.

TABLE 2 Quantification of foreign Self- matter in drainage discharge Number of foreign matters rate Sealing side per unit volume (/ml) (%) Example 1 four sides sealed 0 12 (all sides sealed) Example 2 three sides sealed 1.25 53 (one side open) 

What is claimed is:
 1. A positive electrode structure for a secondary battery, comprising: a positive electrode current collector composed of a tabular nickel foam and having a tabular coated portion and an uncoated portion extending from an outer peripheral portion of the coated portion; a positive electrode active material containing nickel hydroxide and/or nickel oxyhydroxide incorporated into the coated portion of the positive electrode current collector, and a nonwoven fabric made of a polymer material and covering an entirety of the coated portion of the positive electrode current collector from both sides, wherein the positive electrode active material is not present in the uncoated portion of the positive electrode current collector, wherein the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion is compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.10 times or more and less than 0.8 times a thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion, wherein the nonwoven fabric extends from the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion to form a surplus region, and the surplus region is sealed so as to close all around the outer peripheral portion of the coated portion; wherein in a portion of the surplus region that overlaps with the uncoated portion, the nonwoven fabric is sealed while the positive electrode current collector being sandwiched therebetween; wherein in a portion of the surplus region that does not overlap with the uncoated portion, the nonwoven fabric is sealed while the positive electrode current collector being not sandwiched therebetween; and wherein in the portion in which the nonwoven fabric is sealed while the positive electrode current collector being sandwiched therebetween, pores of the nickel foam constituting the positive electrode current collector are filled with the polymer material derived from the nonwoven fabric in a molten and solidified state.
 2. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion is compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.11 times or more and less than 0.5 times the thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion.
 3. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion is compressed so as to have a thickness of 0.13 times or more and less than 0.3 times the thickness of the nickel foam constituting the coated portion.
 4. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the nickel foam constituting the uncoated portion has a thickness of 0.10 to 0.30 mm.
 5. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the uncoated portion extends from the coated portion at a distance of 5 to 50 mm.
 6. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric is sealed by heat welding sealing.
 7. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric has a thickness of 0.05 to 0.2 mm.
 8. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the polymer material contains at least one of polyethylene and polypropylene.
 9. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the nickel foam is rectangular, and the nonwoven fabric covers the entirety of the coated portion and extends from four outer peripheral sides of the coated portion to form the surplus region, and the surplus region is sealed so as to close the four outer peripheral sides of the coated portion.
 10. The positive electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the secondary battery is a nickel-zinc battery.
 11. A nickel-zinc secondary battery comprising: the positive electrode structure according to claim 1, a negative electrode structure containing a negative electrode active material layer containing at least one selected from the group consisting of zinc, zinc oxide, a zinc alloy, and a zinc compound; an LDH separator containing a porous substrate made of a polymer material, and a layered double hydroxide (LDH) and/or an LDH-like compound that fills up pores of the porous substrate so as to exhibit hydroxide ion conductivity and gas impermeability; and an electrolytic solution, wherein the positive electrode and the negative electrode active material layer are separated from each other via the LDH separator. 